the lessons change
by DefiantDreams
Summary: In another world, Haruno Sakura is known to be the best medic-nin of all time, renowned for surpassing her master and her fearsome reputation for her strength and her medical feats. This is not that world. [A series of oneshots on different mentors and different roads Sakura could have had and taken instead.] Chapter 5: Jiraiya, 6: Kurenai
1. Kakashi

Hi! So I was discussing with my sister how while I love Sakura, it still kinda makes me bitter that she's pretty much just a Tsunade number 2 with the exact same moves and everything, when Naruto and Sasuke both remained unique despite their time under Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

Anyway. This is an exploration of different mentors Sakura could have had. So far, after Kakashi, I have: Chiyo, Kurenai, Shisui, Tobirama, Kabuto, Ibiki, Shikaku, Jiraiya. (Yah lmao not all of them r realistic but I'll try.) if you have suggestions, please suggest someone and what Sakura could learn from them.

These 'oneshots' are more just of brief snippets of Sakura's time training underneath them? No real plot, I guess, but relationship building and training montages.

* * *

The first day after Naruto left with Jiraiya in his quest to get stronger, Sakura had to physically force herself to get up, put on her red dress and walk to their usual meeting place on the bridge.

She showed up a little later than usual, 2 hours late, aware that without Naruto and Sasuke—and god, it hurt to even think his name, she can't she can't _she can't_ —she had no one to talk to to fill the time while waiting for Kakashi-sensei.

She waited for her sensei to show up, late as usual and with a flimsy excuse and his eye crease smile thing.

It took her until the sun set before she realized he wasn't coming.

She went again the next day, trying in vain to keep the little fire of hope lit inside of her.

It must have been a fluke. Maybe he was assigned a mission, maybe he was sick, or in the hospital (she didn't know how unlikely this was then), or maybe he got caught up reading his perverted book.

There must be a reasonable explanation for Kakashi-sensei's absence. (Even though he's never been absent before without a sub or an explanation or a letter or _something_.)

She sat down to wait, fiddling slightly with the hem of her dress and wondering if she should buy a new outfit. The dress was always a bit impractical, and she had no one to really dress up for now so… She winced.

She leaned back on her palms and looked up at the sky, gnawing on her lip slightly. What if Kakashi-sensei didn't show up? What would she do? Her heart ached slightly and she closed her eyes against the feeling of hurt, fingers tightening around cloth.

It took her only 6 hours this time to admit that he wasn't coming.

* * *

She was on her way home when she bumped into Kakashi-sensei near the dango stand. Kakashi had his nose in his book, as always, and when he saw her over the top of it, he simply waved. Sakura opened her mouth to scold him for not showing up and keeping her waiting—and then Kakashi kept on walking.

Right past her.

Sakura faltered, and turned around to stare at his back as he goes farther and farther.

Nothing. Not even a stupid excuse, or an apology, or a time for their next training. Her heart clenched, her fists turning white as she gaped. She could recognize a dismissal for what it was.

(In another world, the sight of her sensei's back—a familiar sight that she has grown to hate as it was only a reminder of her weakness, of how far behind she was, and how she could only dream of catching up—was the last straw for her before she stomped into the Godaime's office and asked to be her apprentice.)

No. She wasn't going to let him walk away from her. She had already lost Sasuke—don't think his name, don't don't don't—and Naruto. She wasn't going to lose the last remaining member of Team 7 too.

 _He promised! He taught us that those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum_ , Inner Sakura raged. _Isn't that what he's doing now?_

Silently, Sakura agreed, her expression twisting slightly.

Sakura stomped up after him and caught his sleeve with her hand, making sure to stay on his right side so she could see what wasn't covered by his mask and hitae-ate. She needed all the help she could get in reading him, honestly.

Kakashi stilled at her touch. He didn't jump, but Sakura could feel his muscles tense slightly as he merely tilted his head to regard her warily.

With all the confidence that Sakura could muster—could fake—she sniffed disdainfully and pulled her hand away to cross her arms over her chest.

"You made me wait the whole day for you yesterday, Kaka-sensei," she said, raising her chin to meet his eyes with fiery determination. "I won't wait more than 5 hours for you next time," she continued airily, waving her hand around in the air even as her heart beat faster inside her chest, a solid thump against her ribs that she wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi-sensei could hear.

Kakashi blinked at her, and for a moment, Sakura held her breath and prepared for the rejection.

'Sorry, you're not worth training,' she imagined.

'You're not cut out to be a kunoichi, stop playing as one.'

'You're too weak.'

'I have better things to do.'

All Kakashi did was smile at her, eyes creasing in that way that Sakura always found a little annoying. "Sure, Sakura-chan," he said pleasantly, and Sakura hesitated before she nodded stiffly. She stepped away and let him walk away from her this time.

The next day, Kakashi-sensei showed up 4 hours and 50 minutes late.

(Sakura definitely wasn't about to go home to cry her heart out.)

* * *

Kakashi knew that it had already been 4 hours since the time they were supposed to meet.

It shouldn't be this hard.

He had already failed Sasuke. Maybe it was unfair to judge his standards on what may have just been a lost cause, but Kakashi refused to think of Sasuke as such. His student was already broken by his own brother—another of Kakashi's former subordinates, and wasn't that another can of worms he didn't want to open? Maybe there really was nothing he could have done for him, but Kakashi had tried, and that was probably what hurt the most.

Kakashi didn't begrudge Naruto's decision to train with Jiraiya, he understood that he was a shit teacher. What the fuck did he teach the three of them anyway, aside from the importance of sticking with your comrades? Tree walking? Wow. That surely saved their lives.

Look where it had left them. A scarred broken man and his cute little student ,who a few months ago, couldn't even be bothered by anything other than her precious Sasuke-kun and her hair.

He shook his head at the thought and smiled wryly. It was stupid to think that Sakura was the same person she was back during their introductions. Her hair sheared short was testament to that, if one didn't take the time to look into her eyes and see the haunted pain that lingered.

He had failed all three of them.

Sakura, maybe the most. At least he had tried with Naruto and Sasuke, but he had cast Sakura aside in favor of her teammates and convinced himself that she didn't need to be strong. Him and the boys would protect her. She could keep her innocence for longer. He had thought that she would have eventually given up on being a kunoichi and that in the future, she would have found a nice husband to settle down with and remain a civilian pseudo genin.

Her determination was stronger than that. He should have known.

His neglect had almost cost her her life. If he had helped make her stronger… His thoughts trailed away, mouth setting into a grim line underneath his mask.

This was his chance. He was going to do right by her.

He closed his eyes against the image of another young girl. Nothing like Sakura with her brown hair and plain features. Rin was sweet, and kind, and although Sakura could be sweet and kind, there was a fierceness that lurked underneath the veneer that Kakashi could only barely see through. See underneath the underneath indeed, except he couldn't even quite do that.

"Rin, Obito," he murmured and dipped his head towards the stone.

He showed up at the bridge with 10 minutes to spare. He pretended not to notice that Sakura had her pack in hand and looked about ready to leave.

Before he even had the chance to say something, excuse ready on the tip of his tongue, Sakura stood up straight and bowed to him until her upper body was parallel to the floor.

"Sensei!"

She looked up, and there was that determination in her eyes again that Kakashi has never quite seen—or noticed before.

"I understand why you never took me seriously before," she said boldly, "But this time I'm serious! I don't want to be left behind anymore, I want to be strong so I can protect my precious people!"

Kakashi blinked at her. Her expression faltered for a moment, her eyes scrunching and fuck, if she started crying—Kakashi flinched, ready to bolt or awkwardly pat her head, but Sakura only bowed again.

"So please!" She begged, voice breaking, but both of them ignored it. "Don't go easy on me!"

Kakashi couldn't help but smile. She was going to regret asking for that.

* * *

There was a few things that Kakashi-sensei believed in, Sakura grew to learn in the months they spend training together. She already knew about one of these things, of course. she knew about his fervent belief that the mission was never more important than a comrade's life, and maybe there was a reason for that, but Sakura wasn't quite confident enough to outright ask.

The day that Team 7 took the bell test, Kakashi had tried to give them a lesson in all three ninja basics. Taijutsu. Genjutsu. Ninjutsu.

This is what he trained her in, day after day, his attention focused solely on her. She had always wanted his recognition and approval, but if she had known that this is what it would mean… She thought that maybe the Sakura from a few months ago wouldn't have wanted it that much.

One of the things that Kakashi-sensei believed in was well-roundedness in a shinobi. Sure, he was known as Copy Ninja, master of a thousand jutsu, but no one could say that he slacked off in the other aspects.

Kakashi wasn't a 'jack of all trades, master of none'—no. He was more like, master of everything that he put his mind to. Sakura was only realizing that now, that despite the veneer of apathy that her sensei put up… He was a damn good shinobi. He was a genius in every sense of the word. Smarter than a Nara, better sense of smell than an Inuzuka, and master of the Sharingan despite not being an Uchiha.

Hell, Sakura bet that he could pick up a new weapon mid-fight and use it better than you, against you.

It was so _unfair_.

Sakura had to work for every bit she had and she felt like even that wasn't enough and that it would never be enough. Her parents were both civilian born and Sakura started out her shinobi career with literally nothing, only the bare bones of a promise to be there for her and help her out from a friend that didn't even stay her friend—granted, it was Sakura's fault that her and Ino weren't friends anymore but—

"Again!" Kakashi drawled from where he's lounging on the tree, book still in hand as he glanced towards Sakura.

Sakura grunted as she slid back on the ground and came out of a tumble from the force of the kick. She panted and wiped at the sweat dripping off her forehead before going back into an offensive stance. Kakashi-sensei's clone in front of her slouched, unaffected as usual by Sakura's determined expression.

"Maa, Sakura, just get one hit on me," the shadow clone said, his tone reasonable, as if he wasn't putting Sakura through hell and Sakura huffed. Easy for him to say! It was harder than he made it seem! She was just a genin and Kakashi-sensei was an elite jounin who wasn't taking it easy on her at all.

She scowled, rocking back on her heels before she darted forward, fist cocked back. Kakashi dodged it easily. The only balm to her pride was that at least the clone Kakashi wasn't reading his book.

Kakashi let her try to hit him a few more times before his hand suddenly flashed out, and before Sakura could even blink, much less dodge, he hit at a pressure point and she crumpled to the ground gracelessly.

Sakura closed her eyes and grit her teeth, splayed out as she was on the dirt.

Damn it.

She looked up. The clone dispersed in a cloud of smoke and the real Kakashi dropped down from the tree. She watched as Kakashi pocketed the book and regarded her, hip cocked to the side and hand on his hip.

"You're still slow," he said blandly and Sakura nodded dejectedly. She knew that.

She couldn't help but scowl though, a pout on her lips as she got back on to her feet. "Maybe if you let me take the weights off," she started to complain, shaking her leg slightly to emphasize the garish orange legwarmers that weighed her down. Seriously, why couldn't he have borrowed from someone other Gai-sensei? So unfashionable.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Sakura immediately quieted, any further complaints quelled, chastised as she was just by a single eye. Inner Sakura raged inside of her.

"What's that? You want me to increase the weight?"

Sakura stayed quiet, biting back her retort. She bowed her head respectfully. If there was anything she learned in the past weeks, it was respect to her sensei. The more she trained with him, the more she learned just how good he really was. She doubted that she's even really seen half of what he was actually capable of, even if you count their fights again Zabuza and other rouge nin.

It bothered her that she's afraid to see how strong Kakashi truly was.

"Let's mix things up a bit."

Even as he said this, before she even got to reply, Sakura could already tell that the genjutsu has already been cast. She doesn't know if it was testament to his teachings, or her own leanings towards genjutsu, but she dispelled it as soon the tendrils of chakra touch her skin.

She grinned, triumphant, but Kakashi's face stayed unimpressed as he darted forward, kunai in hand. Sakura parried his slashes, her eyes wide, but she recognized how his speed was adjusted to hers. He was just a little bit faster than her no matter how fast Sakura tried to be.

It took her 5 minutes to realize there was another genjutsu underneath the one from earlier and that her chakra spike didn't quite take that one out.

She dispelled that, and was disappointed to see no one in front of her. She looked up, and she blushed in embarrassment once she realized that Kakashi-sensei never left his spot on the tree.

"You're supposed to be a natural at this," Kakashi said, eyes riveted to his book. Sakura flushed, drawing in on herself. "You noticed and dispelled the wide-spread genjutsu during the Chuunin exams earlier than even some Chunin."

Sakura didn't know what to say to that so she simply nodded. Who—who would even expect another genjutsu underneath another one?

"Fortunately, you've been able to detect and dispel the mid and some high B-rank genjutsus I've been throwing at you." Kakashi scratched the back of his head, sighing slightly.

"Maa, I don't really fight with genjutsu but I can teach you some that I copied back during the war."

Sakura's eyes widened and she nodded eagerly. She was actually going to learn a new jutsu! So cool! That was so much better than their taijutsu practices.

He paused for a moment, and Sakura waited breathlessly. He only looked awkward for a moment before his eyes crinkled. "You're improving, Sakura-chan," was all he said. Sakura gasped.

Hell, that was more than she's ever gotten from him before! She was going to take that.

"But there's still a long way to go," Kakashi-sensei continued, coughing slightly as he adjusted his stance. Sakura's face fell before she forced herself to straighten up and nod.

"Hai, sensei!"

Poisons, genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu—even medical ninjutsu—tracking, kenjutsu, infiltration and espionage. Everything and anything that Kakashi could teach her, he did.

She will never have a fighting style that's unique to her, and she will never truly be the best or a master of anything. Kakashi is training her to be a jack of all trades, master of none—but, Sakura thinks to herself, oftentimes better than a master of one. Maybe she would never reach his level, but she would damn well try hardest to get close.

* * *

Kakashi felt himself a genius, except he didn't know quite how to handle Sakura. Women, he could definitely handle, although maybe not the morning after. Little, pre-pubescent girls that were somehow already considered adults in their shinobi world? That was a whole different story.

In the early days of Team 7, Sakura only ever stayed in the periphery of his mind, a passing thought and always forgotten. Unimpressive compared to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha. Kakashi's attention was always divided between the two of them, they had plenty issues of their own that Kakashi didn't feel close to qualified for.

If Naruto was the sun, and Sasuke the moon, Sakura was the earth their shadows fell upon.

Sakura was intelligent, but any shinobi worth their hitae-ate knew that wasn't quite enough to shield one from death. The Naras might say differently, but even they depended on their shadows and Sakura didn't have hers anymore.

Sakura was determined to prove herself, determined to catch up, and this is what Kakashi capitalizes on. If her intelligence and her sweetness isn't enough to keep her alive, then Kakashi would give her the tools to stay alive, to _survive_. If Sakura's need to be on the same level as her teammates was the reason for her to grasp these tools and learn how to yield them, then Kakashi would push her until her grip was strong, her aim perfect, her hits solid.

Soon, he hoped that her goal would change. That instead of simply wanting to catch up to them, she'd want to surpass them.

(Even if the earth could never quite reach the sun or moon—well. Kakashi was never good with metaphors.)

* * *

Mhmm, again, if you have suggestions on possible mentors for Sakura that I didn't list, please suggest! So far, I have Chiyo, Kurenai, Shisui, Tobirama, Kabuto, Ibiki, Shikaku, Jiraiya. Next chapter will be Shisui because he's my favorite Uchiha. I already finished it, so I'll have it up by next week :)


	2. Shisui

non-mass AU! as much as i love my rareship shisui/sakura, there's **NO SHISUI/SAKURA HERE** . sakura just has a huge crush on him that eventually fades and their relationship is more mentor based. tbh this is me projecting how much I LOVE HIM through sakura. there is **implied shiita** , but it can be taken as deep platonic love…. maybe….

* * *

"Shisui-kun is so cool," Sakura whispered, an expression of awe on her features, and beside her, Ino giggled, covering her mouth as they both peeked from the bush they were hiding behind.

"Itachi-kun is cooler!" Ino whispered back, her blue eyes wide, pink dusting her cheeks. Sakura's head whipped to the side to give her best friend an affronted look.

"What?" She hissed, and then caught herself, reeling back and blushing as she looked down on the ground. "Oh, I mean, I guess he's pretty cool too."

Ino huffed and rolled her eyes, "Sakura! Be more confident in yourself." She grinned, bright and disarming and then winked with all the fervor of her 11-year-old body, "Besides, you can have Shisui-kun and I can have Itachi-kun!"

"Aw, do you hear that Itachi?"

The two of them freeze. Slowly, they turned to face the three Uchihas standing behind them, all three of them regarding them with differing expressions.

Sasuke simply looked embarrassed, annoyance clear in his features as he looked down at his two classmates.

Itachi's expression was cool, an edge of amusement that lurked underneath his kind eyes.

And Shisui? Shisui's grin was bright and mischievous, playful eyes and _wow_ , he really was so much cuter than Itachi or Sasuke. Sakura's heart thudded painfully in her chest and she blushed a deep red.

"So cute!" Shisui laughed, throwing an arm around Itachi's shoulders as he grinned down at them.

Sakura gaped. Cute! Shisui called them—called _her_ cute! She tried not to faint.

"Ino, Sakura," Sasuke hissed, covering his face. Sakura was so glad that her and Ino weren't fighting over him anymore and that they had resolved to crush on different Uchihas. Sasuke really was quite mean. "Leave!"

"Yes!" Ino squeaked and grabbed Sakura's hand. Sakura couldn't help the disappointment that flooded her insides, and she turned to give one last look to the three Uchihas they had been spying on.

Shisui caught her gaze and then once again, he flashed her a wide grin and waved. "Bye, Sakura-chan!" He said cheerfully and Sakura's eyes widened, her face turning red again. He knew her name!

She turned back around and tightened her grip around Ino's hand, speeding up as fast as she could and probably running faster than she ever had, even in the Academy.

Too cute! She couldn't handle it.

She covered her hot face with her free hand, whimpering slightly. Beside her, Ino only laughed giddily.

"They talked to us!"

 **the lessons change**

"Forehead, you're lucky that we moved on to better Uchihas," Ino muttered to her, pinching her side. Sakura laughed and shrugged. Ino should have already expected to be placed on a team with Shikamaru and Chouji. It was tradition, after all.

As for Sakura, she didn't quite know if she was lucky or unlucky with her placement in Team 7 with Naruto and Sasuke.

Hmm, did that mean they could have team dinners in Sasuke's house?

Her eyes lit up and she clasped her hands underneath her chin. She could see Shisui-kun again! She stifled her giggle, but didn't quite hide the way her eyes closed as she fantasized their next meeting.

"Stop thinking of my cousin," Sasuke muttered, tone disgruntled. Sakura's eyes shot open, a blush covering her cheeks.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, why do you like Shisui-san anyway? He's so _old_ ," Naruto grumbled and Sasuke scowled in his direction.

"Don't talk about Shisui that way! He's way cooler than you!" Sasuke grumbled and Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

She turned to Naruto and punched his shoulder as she growled, "You wouldn't understand, Naruto! Shisui-kun is so cool, and he's so fast, and his genjutsu—"

"Shut up, Sakura," Sasuke interrupted, rolling his eyes. "You're so annoying."

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms across her chest as she turned her back on Sasuke. Ugh. She was so glad she didn't like him anymore.

 **the lessons change**

Unfortunately, there were way less team dinners than Sakura thought. It took a few months before Sasuke even gave them the invitation to his house, even if they had been having team dinners for a while now.

In fact, their team dinners were pretty much relegated to Sakura at first. Kakashi-sensei had said it was because she was a girl and Sakura had pitched a fit until all three of the boys had agreed to host a team dinner too.

Their first team dinner at the Uchiha household was… awkward. Sakura didn't quite know why, but Uchiha-sama and Mikoto-san kept shooting Kakashi-sensei looks. Even she could feel the tension. It probably had something to do with the Sharingan that Kakashi-sensei had, but she had too much tact and too little courage to ask where he got it from.

The only reprieve from the awkward silences and Uchiha grunts was Shisui-kun.

Shisui was already 20 years old, a full-fledged jounin (and ANBU? maybe? Sakura wasn't sure). Rumors were that he was set to be the next head of the Police Force despite his age, and that as soon as he retired from regular jounin service he'd have a place in it.

Shisui-kun was mature, and a great shinobi, but very, very talkative. He was almost as talkative as Naruto and that was saying something.

Still, Sakura was relieved at how Shisui's babbling and Naruto's yelling almost drowned out the awkwardness and the tense air between Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke's parents.

And if Sakura stared at him the whole time to appreciate his lean form, his broad shoulders, the way his eyes tilted when he grinned, the sound of his loud, beautiful laughter, and the mischievous pull of his lips?

Well. That was all on her.

 **the lessons change**

When Sakura opened her eyes to the white and disinfectant-smelling hospital, she was understandably a little confused. She laid there, groaning slightly as she took note of the multitude of aches and pains all over her body.

What…?

The memories slam into her like a Doton wall jutsu.

Gaara—Sasuke—Naruto—a sand claw slamming into her and pinning her to the tree.

The machines hooked up to her beep frantically with her distress and Sakura pushed herself up, her eyes wide. What happened? Was Sasuke okay? Did—

"Sakura," a voice cut her train of thought. She looked up, and just the sight of her sensei standing there in his usual slouch was enough to ease the panic that was building inside her chest. Kakashi-sensei's mere presence was enough to calm her. If Kakashi was there then that meant everything was okay.

But still, Sakura had to know, she had to be sure—

"Sasuke?" she rasped out. She coughed to clear her throat and then followed, "Naruto?"

"They're fine," Kakashi answered and Sakura sighed in relief. Kakashi chatted with her for a while, but even Sakura could tell that he had gotten what he had came from, the confirmation that she was alive and now he just wanted to go. She let him go with a smile and watched as he gave her an eye crinkle then exited through the window.

Her next visitor, she didn't quite expect.

"Shisui-kun?" Sakura asked in surprise. Shisui was silent, his gaze odd as he walked to her, tightly concealed strength in his body. She gulped. Inner Sakura screeched inside of her at the attractive figure Shisui made.

He regarded her, tilting his head.

"You know," he said conversationally, "Itachi won't say it, but he— _we_ were terrified that you weren't going to be able to catch up to Sasuke and that jinchuriki."

Sakura swallowed and bowed her head. They did make it in time, but even then, Sasuke was hurt. It was sheer luck that it wasn't worse.

"You noticed and dispelled the genjutsu during the Chuunin exams." It wasn't a question. Sakura looked up, clenching the sheets underneath her hands, uncomfortable at the intensity of Shisui's gaze. Slowly, she nodded.

"You dispelled it with no effort, when some of the Chuunin had fallen victim to it and were already asleep."

That, Sakura didn't know. She had seen a lot of people asleep, but it didn't really register to her that she was one of the few genin who had been able to brush off the genjutsu with minimal effort. But still, Shisui's gaze was expectant, and he looked like he was waiting for her to respond so Sakura simply nodded her head.

She cleared her throat, blushing slightly at how nervous she was to be talking to Shisui, just the two of them in her hospital room and while she looked like absolute shit. "Yes. I'm a genjutsu type."

Shisui's eyes narrowed as he considered her and Sakura's blush deepened. He looked away, his eyebrows drawn together as he quietly considered something.

When he turned his head to look at her again, Sakura could tell that he had come to a decision, whatever it was.

"How's your chakra control?"

"Better than almost everyone," Sakura immediately replied. Shisui raised an eyebrow and Sakura dropped her shoulders, even her ears reddening as she clamped her mouth shut. Oh no, he must think her so arrogant! (But it's true though, Inner grumbled at her.)

Shisui's lips thinned for a moment before he nodded, eyes steely. He stood up from his seat and approached her. Sakura watched him warily, her eyes wide.

"I care deeply for Sasuke," Shisui said easily. He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes turning up. "But no matter how hard he trains, sometimes that isn't enough."

Sakura frowns, quietly unsure of where he was going with that.

"It would make me and Itachi feel so much better if we knew his teammates were just as capable."

Sakura's breath caught and she snapped her head up to stare at him. Shisui grinned at her and stuck out his hand.

"How would you feel about me training you?"

 **the lessons change**

From what Shisui had told her, the last person that he had helped train other than Sasuke was Itachi himself, the Uchiha clan's favored son and prodigy. Itachi had been excellent and had graduated the Academy in a year, second youngest after her own sensei. He had made Chuunin at an age that seemed impossible to Sakura then ANBU almost right after.

Sakura was nothing compared to Itachi, and she doubted she could ever reach his level.

Strangely, Shisui didn't seem to mind.

"I barely had anything to teach Itachi," Shisui said to her, snorting slightly. He tilted his head and quirked a lip at her. "You, on the other hand, I have a lot to teach."

There was no mocking or condescension in his tone, only excitement, and that was the only reason why Sakura had just blushed a bit and nodded. She was getting at controlling her face around him, but she found that being in his presence still made her sweat a little and her heart palpitate.

Although Sakura didn't pick up on certain techniques and ninjutsu that Shisui tried to teach to her as fast as Itachi, there was one thing that even Shisui had complimented her progress on.

"Your chakra control," Shisui murmured in awe as he shook his head. "Why didn't you say it was this amazing?"

Sakura blushed at his compliment, preening slightly as she giggled, pressing her hands to her warm face. He complimented her!

"You could be a medic nin if you wanted," Shisui told her, pursing his lips thoughtfully. Sakura frowned and shook her head.

"No. I want to fight in the frontlines, I don't want to be in the background." I don't want to have to watch Naruto's and Sasuke's backs anymore, she didn't say.

"And you will," Shisui readily agreed and Sakura puffed up with pride. There was no doubt in his statement, no room for Sakura to even doubt herself.

 **the lessons change**

The Sharingan gave the Uchihas an unfair advantage over the field of genjutsu, and many considered it foolish to train as a genjutsu type in Konoha. Sakura herself could only name one non-Uchiha in Konoha that specialized in genjutsu.

You will never be as good as the Uchiha, they'd say, and Sakura knew this. She had heard it a million times, but still, she didn't care.

Shisui was the ultimate genjutsu user, and even without his Sharingan, his technique was at the pinnacle of those who practiced genjutsu.

Shisui himself had admitted that Itachi was quickly becoming stronger than him, more skilled everyday and truly worthy of the title of prodigy. But, he had also confided in her that there were some things that Itachi could only dream of catching up to him in.

The first was speed, of course, and this was what Shisui pushed her in. Her natural speed went first, weights on her legs and on her arms as he made her run laps across Konoha. The shunshin only enhanced your speed and your muscles, and if there was nothing to enhance, what was the point? Sometimes she was accompanied by Lee and Gai, sometimes Shisui himself, and in rare moments, Sasuke and Naruto too. Shisui made her sprint from point A to point B until her legs and her lungs screamed for mercy. Muscle formed in her thighs and in her calves, and at first, she saw no difference. It was only when she finally beat Sasuke in a sprint and kept pace with Kakashi's ninken that she realized just what Shisui's training had done for her.

She was at a disadvantage. Shisui's Sharingan allowed him to move at fast speed and still see and avoid obstacles. At the moment, Sakura's shunshin was limited to short, straight distances until she learned how to direct chakra to her eyes and improve her vision.

The second, was genjutsu. While Itachi could catch you with a flick of his finger, Shisui needed nothing. It was an honor to train underneath him, and intellectually, Sakura knew that but—

She grit her teeth and with her chakra, batted away the genjutsu that Shisui had lazily wrapped around her sense of smell. She had been running for so long now, and she was so hungry, and how _dare_ he make her smell her favorite food! It was unbelievable too! Genjutsu that dealt with the sense of smell was harder compared than genjutsu that manipulated sight or touch, and Shisui was acting as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Shisui laughed from beside her, and next thing Sakura knew, the taste of syrup coated anko dumplings coated her tongue. Her eyebrow twitched, and again, she dispelled that genjutsu and the second one that Shisui had sneaked underneath it to make her legs feel like they were burning from fatigue.

A month ago, hell, a week ago, she wouldn't have noticed the second genjutsu. She would have thought that she was at her limit already, but Sakura knew her body now, knew she wasn't even at the end of her stamina.

Shisui whistled from beside her, nodding in approval. Sakura blushed, and then cursed herself at the predictable reaction. Inner Sakura screamed in glee from inside her.

 **the lessons change**

"You just keep putting me under genjutsu!" Sakura finally yelled as she realized Shisui had done something to her balance. It had taken her tripping over nothing _ten_ times before she realized that wasn't normal.

Shisui snickered and covered his mouth. She glared at him. How could she have ever thought Shisui was nicer than Sasuke? He was a bully too!

"Why don't you actually teach me some genjutsu," Sakura grumbled. Shisui looked at her, still smirking mischievously and Sakura huffed.

"Name 10 genjutsus you know," Shisui teased.

"The one with the feathers that make you sleep, Hell Viewing, the one where you make them taste something and the one where they smell something that isn't there," Sakura rattled off, delving into her memory of the different genjutsus she had experienced or Shisui had placed on her. "The one where you mess with their balance, another one that ramps up your adrenaline and forces you to run, then one that—"

She paused, and blinked at him. Shisui grinned.

"That wasn't 10, Sakura-chan."

She knew she could complete the list of 10. Hell, she could give him probably 15 more that weren't on that list of 10. Every waking moment of training she's had to be on her toes with Shisui throwing genjutsu after genjutsu at her.

"You've been showing me genjutsu," she finally said and Shisui chuckled, nodding slightly as he placed a hand on his chin, smug smile on his stupid face.

"Different genjutsu for every occasion!" He said cheerfully. "My assignment for you is to go read up on the brain and know which part of the brain does what. Then give me a list of genjutsus for each part of the brain, and I'll teach you how to use chakra to focus and play with one section."

She nodded furiously, surprising even herself at the enthusiasm. She looked up at Shisui who raised an eyebrow at her and she bit at the inside of her lip.

"Shisui-senpai," she started hesitantly. "Is that how the Uchiha learn genjutsu?"

Shisui's eyes shadowed over and he dropped the hand on his chin to his side. He gave her a wry smile, expression more serious than anything she's ever seen on his face before.

"The Uchiha depend too much on their eyes. They don't bother to learn genjutsu outside of the Sharingan," Shisui said. The harshness of his tone surprised her and she stared up at him in surprise. "One day, they'll be blinded and left with nothing."

She gaped. Shisui's eyes narrowed before he leaned down. "Sakura-chan, listen to this okay? I love my clan, I am loyal to the Uchiha, but I am a shinobi of Konoha first."

 **the lessons change**

She was in the finals of her second Chuunin exams, and this time, Sakura knew she was going to pass and make Chuunin. It had been a few months since the disastrous exams, and she was leaps ahead of where she used to be.

Sasuke himself was so much stronger, Kakashi having finally buckled down to teach him seriously. She knew that he had been training underneath his brother and his father too, and at times, Shisui would pit the two of them against each other. Sakura hadn't always won, in fact she barely won against Sasuke, but there were times that she had beat him purely on speed alone or had gotten the upperhand for majority of the fight.

She was faster now, faster than she could have ever imagined for herself, and she was sure with her tanto and her ability to detect, break and cast genjutsu. Shisui hadn't taught her much ninjutsu, due to their very natures being different, his fire and hers water and earth. But she didn't need that.

Her opponent stared at her, obviously underestimating her by the disdainful rise of his brow. A few months ago, maybe Sakura would have been angry, but if Kakashi had taught her to see underneath the underneath, Shisui had taught her how to manipulate the people who didn't bother to do so.

And so, when Sakura felt the chakra settle over her brain, the genjutsu clear in her surroundings, she didn't dispel it. The genjutsu was nothing close to Shisui's, simply playing on sight and sound instead of an attack on all of her senses.

The Cloud shinobi approached her, ready to incapacitate her still form, seemingly still under the genjutsu—

Sakura watched him from the sidelines as he attacked the air with a triumphant yell, Sakura's own genjutsu layered subtly over him. She looked up into the stands, right into Shisui's amused gaze and grinned at him.

He shook his head, a grin on his own lips. He made a face at her, an expression Sakura recognized. Stop playing with him, he seemed to say and Sakura sighed before she nodded.

The Cloud nin didn't see it coming.

 **the lessons change**

"Aww, my baby kohai and my baby cousin!" Shisui crooned as he swooped both her and Sasuke into a tight hug. Sasuke yelped, growling slightly as he struggled against Shisui's grip. Sakura flushed, her face steaming red at being pressed up so close to Sasuke and Shisui, inarguably the cutest shinobi in the world. Shisui has always been physically affectionate. Not so much with her, but with Sasuke and Itachi definitely. She thinks it means something that Shisui ruffles her hair or pinches her cheeks much more often now.

"I'm so proud of the two of you!" he let them go, a wide beam on his face as he looked down at them. Itachi shook his head in fond amusement as he made his way by Shisui's side, as usual.

"Congratulations otouto," he said smoothly, and Sasuke straightened up, preening slightly with pride from the compliment. Itachi tilted his head at her and gave her a tiny smile. "Congratulations, Sakura."

 **the lessons change**

Sakura soon began getting used to Shisui dragging her everywhere. Itachi was with them most of the time, and even Sasuke when he deigned her worthy of his presence. (He'd deny it, but Sakura knew that she was breaking down his walls and that—gasp, he actually considered her his closest friend now, right after Naruto.)

But then there were the other times that neither Itachi or Sasuke or even Hana or Izumi couldn't accompany them, and it was just her and Shisui.

Shisui seemed to love introducing her to his fellow jounin as his favorite kohai, hand on top of her head, and Sakura used to be flattered and blushed at his words until she realized that she was his _only_ kohai. Shisui used their outings to, according to him, better her illusions, but Sakura knew by now that he just really liked trying new things and needed someone to drag along for the ride.

Shisui had insisted that the first step to learning to be good at genjutsu was to experience the illusions she forced on others for herself, and thus experience everything the world had to offer and immerse herself in it. He wasn't keen on intentionally hurting her, but with every injury Sakura earned from training or from missions, Shisui forced her to take in exactly how it felt to be cut, to be burned, to have her bones broken and shattered and for her muscles to ache. The lighter side of it was that he was almost childishly excited over the prospect of new experiences.

There were certain things that even Itachi wouldn't try for his favored friend, and Sakura was naïve enough and desperate enough to spend any time at all with Shisui that she had gone with him.

The past year, Sakura had been dragged into trying exotic foods, a form of new chakra acupuncture, a Hyuuga massage, and a mysterious hotspring near the border of Fire country, among many odd new experiences. The few times that Shisui had managed to take her with him on his missions, they had explored the villages and the cities for something new to experience. From museums, to tourist traps, Shisui wanted to see it all.

Today, Shisui was sitting down in front of her, the plate of odd delicacies imported from Suna in between them. A few months ago, Sakura would have been flustered at the date-like activity and would have tried her pathetic attempts at flirting with the man 8 years her senior, with Shisui just smiling. He let her flirt with him, yes, but he never really entertained her and always shot her down. No matter how kindly he did it, a rejection was a rejection and it had stung Sakura's pride.

Now though, as Shisui snorted unattractively at her joke and then proceeded to shovel food into his mouth in one go, Sakura only shook her head and continued to eat.

"Sakura," one of the chuunin girls whispered to her. Granted, Sakura was a chuunin too, but she was close enough to jounin and both Shisui and Kakashi-sensei seemed confident that she would pass the next jounin exams before she turned 16.

"Is Shisui-kun single?" she giggled, blushing slightly and Sakura blanched. Her nose wrinkled.

"Yeah," she said shortly. "And there's a reason why."

The other girl gave her a confused look, but Sakura ignored it.

When she told Shisui about it later that day as they were training, Shisui merely snickered. He threw another insidious genjutsu over her, but Sakura spiked her chakra the moment the tendrils of chakra made its way into her brain. She was so much more sensitive to people trying to lay illusions into her, the feeling of someone else's chakra—Shisui's especially, after the thousands upon thousands of genjutsus he had cast on her—giving her the instantaneous reaction of spiking her own over it.

Their training was interrupted in the middle as Itachi appeared near them, mission scroll in hand. Sakura could tell immediately that it was a mission for Shisui and his squad alone, but she reigned in her disappointment. It probably wouldn't take that long. Shisui was never assigned into long-term missions, choosing instead to focus more on the Konoha Police Force. Once she was officially a jounin, she'd be able to go on more missions with Shisui, and even Sasuke, who had already made jounin before her and was already considering ANBU. Naruto, who had been away for 2 years with Jiraiya-sama, had only just made chuunin recently.

Sakura watched as Shisui smiled at Itachi, affection clear in his gaze as he touched Itachi's shoulder. Sakura shook her head. Yup. Definitely a reason why Shisui was still single.

 **the lessons change**

"Sakura," Shisui whispered through the ear piece, voice calm. Sakura swallowed. Sometimes it still got to her. Shisui was a whole different person on missions sometimes, breathtakingly competent and skilled and serious.

"I'm ready."

There's a flash across her vision, Shisui's signal, and Sakura threw herself into the fight with the missing nin they've been hunting. Their movements were rehearsed, Sakura matching Shisui shunshin by shunshin and she felt alive.

The missing nin didn't even have a chance against their Triple S Barrage. (Triple S Barrage, because Sakura was too embarrassed to call it by Shisui's real name—Shisui and Sakura Shunsin Barrage). Shisui and Sakura were everywhere and nowhere, surrounding him with no hope and no chance of blocking or parrying their strikes.

They were the fastest shinobi alive.

The moment the missing nin was incapacitated, Shisui took off his head with a finesse, his eyes narrowed and Sharingan spinning dangerously. Sakura rolled her eyes before she took out the sealing scroll in her pack.

"Nice," Shisui whistled. With a hand sign, the head disappeared into the scroll with a burst of smoke. Sakura hid her smile. She couldn't wait till they split the bounty. She would have never expected that she'd be spending most of her missions with him as a hunter nin, but they had gained a reputation for their speed and flawless teamwork. It was nothing like how he and Itachi had worked together, but they were intimately familiar with each other's nearly identical skillset and the time they had spent training together had made them in tune to each other's every move.

"We've probably beat the record now for most heads," Shisui told her, hand on his hip as he nodded. He ran a hand through his curly hair and turned back in the direction of Konoha.

"Race?" He smirked, and Sakura huffed before she nodded, taking a moment to wipe off the blood from her jounin vest.

"On three," Sakura said. Shisui nodded, shifting his stance.

"One!"

They shunshin in a burst of speed. Sakura laughed loudly, even as she pushed herself, chakra bursting at her heels to propel herself through the trees.

"Now I'm just disappointed in the both of us!" he yelled.

 **the lessons change**

Their team dinner was a little less awkward than usual, maybe because it was only Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto this time, Kakashi having bowed out due to a mission. Team 7 didn't really exist anymore, with Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi all jounin, and Naruto following closely behind, but it was still nice to be around them.

Shisui was quiet for once, but his eyes still glinted with his usual mischief as he quietly talked to Itachi, hands wild as he told him a story. Their heads were bowed together, bodies turned towards each other as if they were the only people in the room. Sakura watched them, and it was only because she was looking that she saw the content, amused tilt on Itachi's lips as he nodded to whatever Shisui was saying.

Shisui laughed, the sound barely muffled by his hand before he looked up. He caught Sakura's gaze, and it was testament to the years he has spent teasing and goading her that Sakura only raised an eyebrow, no longer embarrassed or flustered over his fleeting bursts of concentrated attention.

"Maa," Shisui said loudly, pouting at her, "Sakura-chan cheated earlier on our mission."

"I learned from the best, senpai," Sakura said sweetly, mocking in the last word, and Sasuke and Naruto snicker at that. Shisui made a face at her, and Itachi's lips quirked again in amusement. She considered that as a victory. Itachi was a quiet man, and every positive reaction she got from him was a win.

"Remember when Sakura used to call you 'Shisui-kun'?" Sasuke said, his tone simpering and high-pitched as he did an impression of her only 3 years ago. Sakura's face burned and she glared at him. Before Sasuke could even blink, she's hit him on the head.

"Shut up!" She barked and Naruto laughed loudly.

 **the lessons change**

Sakura jumped down from the branch, speeding across until she made her way to the collapsed figure lying down in a pool of blood. She had left the medic-nin who had accompanied her behind in the dust, fear pushing her faster in a desperation to get to him.

She touched his shoulder, afraid. Her heart was beating out of her chest, high in her throat. The moment her hand made contact with his shoulder—so much blood, too much blood—he jerked, his eyes snapping open and filled with red.

Sakura reeled back but Shisui clutched on to her, grip painfully tight and desperate.

"Itachi," Shisui gasped out, his eyes wild and the tomoes in his Sharingan spinning wildly. He tried to stand up, but his legs collapsed underneath his own weight and he cried out in pain.

Sakura caught him, her eyes wide.

"Sakura," Shisui rasped, "Please."

He didn't have to say any more for Sakura to know what he wanted.

Itachi and Sasuke were long gone, too far away for most people to catch up to but—

Sakura was trained by Shunsin no Shisui himself, and she was just as fast, maybe even faster than him.

She nodded, lips thin and eyes grim. She couldn't heal Shisui, didn't know how, but she knew that the medic-nin was coming. Shisui loved Itachi more than anything, even life itself, and if this is what she had to do for him, she would.

Self-sacrifice, Shisui had taught her. A shinobi who protected Konoha from the shadows.

She disappeared, and Shisui closed his eyes, letting out a silent breath of relief. He dropped his head and let himself pass out.

 **the lessons change**

Sakura made it just in time to see Sasuke collapsed at the side and Itachi's eye bleeding, his Sharingan strange in a way that Sakura's never seen before and a furious, heartbroken expression on his features. Orochimaru was burning, black fire all over his body as he laughed and laughed, even as his skin melted and sloughed of his bones.

She flash stepped to Sasuke's side, turning him over as she pressed two fingers to his pulse. Fear was acrid in her veins, but when she felt the soft, sluggish beat, Sakura didn't give herself the time to slump in relief. She wasn't too late, but she needed to get him to the hospital now.

Sakura saw Orochimaru disappear, and the next moment, Itachi was beside her.

"He's alive," she told him, and Itachi's shoulders slumped in visible relief, grief making his hands shake. She realized then that Itachi had thought Sasuke dead.

"Sasuke," he rasped, and Sakura thinks she should be worried about the blood dripping from his right eye and the strange Sharingan, but it's forgotten in place of how tender Itachi helped her lift up his brother.

"Go. You're faster," Itachi told her, practically begging, and Sakura nodded tightly. She shunshinned away, Sasuke in her arms, and the knowledge that all of her training, all of her speed, it would all be for nothing if she couldn't make it to the hospital in time.

This was why Shisui bothered to train her, and Sakura would not let him down.

 **the lessons change**

In the end, Sasuke and Shisui made it, but just barely so. There was a rank fear in her that she had abandoned Shisui and if the medic-nin who had followed them had been a little bit slower, he might not have made it. If Sakura had been a little bit slower, Sasuke might have truly died, in her arms or in Itachi's.

Hinata looked dead on her feet by the time Sasuke was stable, and Sakura has never been more grateful for her and the fact that she had steeled herself underneath Hokage-sama's apprenticeship.

Maybe in another world, she wouldn't have had to bring Sasuke to the hospital, and she would have been able to patch him up herself, but Sakura wasn't lying to Shisui when she said she had wanted to fight away from the background.

This wasn't the first time that Orochimaru had tried to take an Uchiha, tried to take Sasuke, and it wouldn't be the last. But Sasuke had the strength of the Uchiha behind his back, and Sakura and Naruto too.

She wouldn't let him take Sasuke away from her. She had no doubt that she was faster than Orochimaru, and if the gods willed it, the next time he tried, she'd snatch Sasuke out from right under his nose.

* * *

So? man idk where akatsuki is at this time? let's just pretend they don't exist and that the big bad stayed Orochimaru. or maybe in this theoretical timeline, this story ends around the same time Shippuden starts. dont ask me pls HAHA

thanks to ur suggestions, this is my current list of upcoming mentors! not in order though

-Kabuto (my next after shisui), Jiraiya, Yugao, Rin, Mei, Gai, Shikaku, Chiyo, Tobirama, Kurenai, Tsume, Hiashi, Obito

next chapter will be! another shisui! but more canon compliant. idk if u guys can tell how much i love him. who are your favorite side characters?


	3. Shisui 2

SHISUI part 2

so another Shisui & Sakura fic (bcos i LOVE HIM) except a liiiiittle bit more canon compliant. The last part is ? Pls dont ask me when in the shinobi war it happened, i honestly dont know. I just wanted to write a scene where the other Uchiha were revived. there's a little bit of sasusaku at the end but it's barely anything.

 **the lessons change**

The first time she sees him, she thinks nothing about him beyond the passing glance at the Uchiha crest. Uchiha-like Sasuke, she thinks, and giggles to herself giddily.

She forgets all about him the next day, in face of the actual, real life Sasuke.

Haruno Sakura is 7 years old, and Uchiha Shisui is just a face on the street.

 **the lessons change**

The first time she hears about him, it's only in passing. She's with her mother, chewing on a stick of dango, when she overhears a pair of Jounin, hushed whispers making its way across the aisle.

"-haven't heard from him in days."

"Rumor says his cousin did it."

"Shame. Shisui was one of the better Uchiha."

She perks up minutely at the sound of the last name, but when she realizes they're talking about some Uchiha she doesn't know, much less care about, she slumps down again in her seat and resumes her languid chewing.

Haruno Sakura is 8 years old, and Uchiha Shisui is just a name.

 **the lessons change**

The second time she hears his name, she wouldn't say it changes her life, but it does change her fighting style and gives her the edge she needs.

It's her and Naruto, team 7 reunited again (except not, because they aren't Team 7 without Sasuke), and they're fighting against Kakashi-sensei once more for those damned bells.

She's stronger now, she's not the weak genin that she was before at 12 years old. She's stronger, but she still! Can't! Hit him!

Kakashi dodges all her chakra-enhanced punches and kicks with ease, and even as her fists splinter open trees and crack the very earth they stand upon, it's all for nothing if she can't even hit him!

She's too slow, and it makes her feel helpless. She swore to herself that she'd never let herself feel this helpless and weak ever again. She grits her teeth as her and Naruto have to retreat in face of Kakashi-sensei's ninjutsu.

After-much after, when they finally have the bells, Sakura decides to bring it up with her sensei that isn't really her sensei.

"Kaka-sensei," she starts off, a little awkwardly, and Kakashi gives her an eye crease in response from behind his book. "How can I get faster?"

"Aside from train?" Kakashi says cheerfully and Sakura's eyebrow twitches. Of course aside from train!

"Gai's weight training is very effective," Kakashi says blandly and Sakura pouts. Kakashi hums, looking up at the sky as he rubs at the back of his neck.

"There are a few shinobi celebrated for their speed. There's..." He trails off for a second, and Sakura frowns at the flash of his eyes in Naruto's direction before he recovers seamlessly, "There's the Yondaime, known as the Yellow Flash from his mastery over the Hiraishin."

Hiraishin, Sakura thinks to herself, nodding slightly as she resolves to look up the unfamiliar word.

"There's Uchiha Shisui-Shunshin no Shisui. He only used the shunsin, but he used it better than anyone."

Shunshin. Now that was a more familiar word than Hiraishin. Sakura's lips purse before she nods again. Kakashi mentions another shinobi, one from Iwa or something, but Sakura's already tuned him out. Kakashi-sensei only sighs when he realizes she isn't listening more, mumbling to himself about cute little students that don't appreciate him any longer. Sakura stifles a laugh and shakes her head.

The next day, Sakura makes up her mind. The choice is simple, really. It's hard enough to find information on the first ninjutsu that Kakashi had mentioned, but what she does find on the Hiraishin quickly discourages her. The Hiraishin requires a seal and more chakra than Sakura is willing to part with, considering her less than ideal reserves. She has no knowledge on fuinjutsu either. Then there's the fact that the Hiraishin is an S-Rank space time ninjutsu and Sakura isn't quite confident enough to deal with that, and there's no one to teach her.

The shunshin, on the other hand, was a mere D-rank. A D-rank performed extraordinarily well, at the right time, right place and with the right strategy, was oftentimes better than an A-rank. Distance travelled is equivalent to chakra used. It requires chakra control, both to enhance your muscles (which Sakura already does) and to enhance your eyes to see at the speed you're moving.

Chakra control, which Sakura has in excess. If there's anything that Sakura's confident in, it's her control. If she was just a little bit more confident, she'd even say she has perfect chakra control. (Even if she's not confident enough to say it, it doesn't change the fact that she does, in fact, have chakra control in the 99+ percentile. Better than Tsunade-shishou even.)

And so, in theory, Sakura could excel in the shunsin and incorporate it into her fighting style. It would be hard to enhance and direct chakra in so much different places and at different speeds and timings (legs and eyes to get to where she needs, then a concentrated burst from her fists to give her the earthquake punches her shishou is famed for), but Sakura is confident and determined enough to try and to succeed.

Uchiha Shisui may have used his shunshin to overwhelm his opponents and be everywhere at once (she had pushed until she had heard that his 'clones' seemed corporeal, not because they were shadow clones but because they were in fact, him. He was just that fast), but Sakura... well. She just needs to be fast enough to hit anyone and everyone.

Hell. Sakura would be fast enough to hit Shunshin no Shisui himself.

Haruno Sakura is 15 years old, and Uchiha Shisui is someone to aspire to.

 **the lessons change**

The second time she sees him, it's also her last.

The greatest of the Uchiha, revived. Sakura stared in horror at the wooden coffins-no, at what lay inside them.

Their only comfort is that Uchiha Itachi was somewhere else, his body not included among the Uchihas that Kabuto had revived. Madara too, was not included.

But the Uchihas that were here... There was a reason that the Uchiha name was so great after all, and a battle against any Uchiha with their Sharingan eyes would be hard enough. But these Uchiha specifically, Kakashi quickly explained to her, voice hushed, they all had the Mangekyou.

She doesn't recognize any of them, but then as the reanimated bodies open their eyes, she can hear murmured names from the other shinobi with her.

One in particular stands out. Uchiha Shisui.

At the sound of the familiar name, Sakura jolts in surprise, her eyes widening slightly. Her muscles tense instinctively, chakra ready. For so long, that name was just another person to catch up to, but now... She gapes.

Uchiha Shisui looks to be her age. He looks so young beside the other two, and Sakura slowly realizes that at his age-their age, if she isn't mistaken, he already had a flee on sight order in the bingo books.

"Sakura," Kakashi says quietly and Sakura tenses. His tone is reassuring. "You can take him. You're the fastest shinobi here, you're the only one who can keep up with him."

She isn't even supposed to be here, she's supposed to be back at the medic tent and doing her job, but-she was here. There was nothing to be done. She was going to fight Uchiha Shisui and finally pit her speed against his. If Lee was here, then maybe Sakura wouldn't have to, but he wasn't.

Shisui looks at them, confused. All three of them look confused, but there's no time for answers as they suddenly dart towards the gathered shinobi. Sakura moves without thinking, kunai clashing and meeting against Shisui's tanto.

She hears the sound of metal clashing against metal from around her, but she doesn't dare look away.

Shisui blinks, and lets out a low whistle as they exchange a series of swipes against each other.

"You're fast," he chuckles and Sakura grits her teeth. Yes, she is, but at the speed they're moving, Sakura can't gather chakra quickly enough to land a devastating hit. It takes everything she has just to parry against his attacks, and for the first time in a while, she feels challenged in terms of speed.

They clash, and then skid back. Shisui grins at her, and the sight is disarming enough that she almost hesitates. He looks nothing like Sasuke or even Itachi with that expression on his face.

"If I could control my body, we'd be doing something way more interesting," Shisui tells her, and the tone is just so overly flirtatious that Sakura flushes. What the fuck! She still has feelings for Sasuke like the idiot she is, and Shisui looks enough like him that she can't help but find him attractive.

"I've always dreamed of fighting you," Sakura says and Shisui blinks at that in surprise.

"Me, specifically?"

"Kakashi-sensei told me about you," Sakura responds breathlessly as once again, they meet in the middle. He's just a little bit faster than her that Sakura is straining to keep up. She feels blood trickling down her cheek and her arm from where Shisui had managed to slice her, yet Shisui is completely unharmed, the only imperfection coming from Edo Tensei itself. "I wanted to be as fast as you."

"Almost," Shisui smirks, and there's the arrogant look that Sakura's grown used to seeing on Sasuke's face. She grits her teeth and pushes herself to the edge with her shunshin, somehow flashing past his defenses to land a right hook on his face.

He flies back and flips, a stunned expression on his face as he lands on his feet, skidding slightly. Sakura grins triumphantly. That hit wasn't even chakra-enhanced.

Haruno Sakura is 16 years old and Uchiha Shisui is someone to beat.

"Well," Shisui says grimly, and Sakura just barely dodges his tanto. She keeps her eyes fixed on his collarbones. She doesn't know what power Shisui's Mangekyou has, but she'd rather not risk it. She's thankful that Kakashi had at least trained her how to fight a Sharingan user. "I'd rather not fight fellow Konoha nin, honestly."

"I would like to agree," the nameless Uchiha says mildly from somewhere near them. If Sakura had thought that Sasuke and Shisui had looked alike, it's nothing to how he and Shisui look eerily like twins. Shisui seems to notice this too as his eyes widen.

"Tobirama-sensei would be so upset at me," the man grumbles and Shisui squeaks. Sakura blinks.

"Uchiha Kagami?" Shisui warbles, voice coming out unclear. Kagami turns his head and blinks, before he nods.

"Yes, and you are... Shisui?" He says uncertainly.

"I'm your grandson!" Shisui stammers, even as his movements remain smooth and quick and Sakura has to push herself to the very limit to avoid the swipes of his blades. Even then, she's getting nicked. Honestly, she's getting flashbacks to her fight against Sasori. At least this time, Shisui's sword isn't laced with poison. If it was, Sakura has no doubt she'd be dead by now.

"I'm a big fan of you!"

Kagami gives him an odd look and then laughs uncertainly. Sakura certainly feels very put out at the lack of attention from Shisui. Damn it, she's his opponent!

"Damn," Shisui curses, "if only I could use my Mangekyou on myself, I'd be able to break free of this control."

"You can!" Kagami calls out as he doges Kakashi's attack. "Cast it on me. My Mangekyou can reflect yours."

"So cool," Shisui whispers to her, a grin on his lips and Sakura can't help it, she laughs. "Come on, let me face him."

"Kaka-sensei!" Sakura calls out.

"On it!" Kakashi replies, and before Sakura knows it, her and Kakashi-sensei are back to back. They duck, and the two Uchihas activate their Mangekyou.

There's a moment where they both still, faces blank, and then Shisui staggers backwards, clasping a hand over his eye.

They look at each other for another moment and then nod.

And then-Sakura never imagined anything like this to ever happen. If you had told her a year ago, a few months ago even, that she'd be fighting side by side with Uchiha Shisui, she would have punched you into a few trees.

But here she is. Here they are. Sakura and Shisui matching strides, shunshin by shunshin as they speed through white Zetsus and cut them down.

Haruno Sakura is 16 years old and Uchiha Shisui is an ally.

 **the lessons change**

Shisui glances at her and Sakura turns her head as they stop. There's no trace of the mild amusement that had played at his features earlier, his face oddly grim and his Sharingan spinning.

"I need to find Itachi."

Sakura blanches. At the expression on her face, Shisui falters, his own expression twisting.

"Is he-"

"Itachi is dead," Sakura tells him slowly. She's unsure of why he needs to find Itachi. Wasn't he the one to kill Shisui after all? There was no time for revenge.

Shisui's face falls, his lips parting and his eyes squeezing shut for a moment, the expression of utmost, inexplainable, devastating grief. Not the expression of someone slighted who had missed their chance on revenge. Sakura is lost. She can't help but think that what she knows isn't right, that she's missing something very integral about just who Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui are.

Shisui visibly shudders before he straightens up, shaking his head and his lips thinning. "Was he revived too?"

"I'm not sure," Sakura replies awkwardly, helpless in face of his grief.

He hesitates, and then seems to force himself to speak, "Sasuke?"

Sakura's lips part and she lets out a huff of breath. "I'm not sure which side he's on at the moment."

Slowly, Shisui nods, as if he's trying to force himself to accept it. There's a relief in his gaze though that for now, Sasuke seems to be alive.

"I need to get back to the medic tent," Sakura murmurs, just a touch regretfully. "It's where I'm needed."

Shisui regards her, and then he smiles. Not as bright as the smiles he had on earlier while they were battling, but enough of a smile that his features are enhanced, delicate eyelashes and upturned eyes, defined jawline and thin lips. Sakura's heart stutters. For a moment, Sakura wonders what it would have been like if he was still alive.

"It was nice fighting with you," he says. It's a goodbye by itself. Sakura lets herself smile and nod.

"It's an honor."

She watches him leave. If she wanted to, she could catch up to him.

She turns around and makes her way back to the medic tents. She has patients to treat and wounds to heal.

Haruno Sakura is 16 years old and Uchiha Shisui is the last thing on her mind.

 **the lessons change**

Later, much later, after the war is won and everything is over and for once, Konoha is at peace, Sakura finds the courage to tell Sasuke.

"I met Shisui during the war," she admits and Sasuke looks up at her, his eyes dark. He's still so handsome. "We fought."

Sasuke stays silent, waiting for her to say more as he stares at her and Sakura blushes. She looks away. "He was fast."

Sasuke huffs and looks out into the trees from where they're sitting down. There's a wry smile on his lips, melancholy clear in his gaze. "He was."

They're both silent again, Sakura stewing slightly in her thoughts and unsure of how to bring it up. Sasuke clenches his remaining hand, shaking his head ruefully.

"His speed was the only thing I admitted he was better at than-than Itachi," Sasuke adds in a murmur, and Sakura prides herself on the fact that she notices the minute stutter, the tensing of Sasuke's jaw on his brother's name. But she doesn't mention it.

"He loved him," Sakura blurts out. They both still. Sakura didn't mean to actually say it, and Sasuke didn't expect to hear it. Sakura swallows, her hands fisting at the hem of her shirt, knuckles white. Even if she didn't mean to say it, she still thought it. The look on Shisui's face when she had said Itachi was dead... He couldn't have not loved Itachi in some sort of way.

"He asked about him after he freed himself from Edo Tensei's control."

Sasuke's eyes slip closed, and the few feet of distance between them suddenly seems wider than anything that's ever divided them before. She stays silent, just watching him and appreciating the way the sunlight plays on his features.

"Let me tell you about Itachi and Shisui," Sasuke finally says.

Uchiha Sakura is 18 years old, and Uchiha Shisui is no longer a mystery, no longer a name, or simply just someone to beat or an ally.

Uchiha Shisui was her husband's cousin, Itachi's best friend, one of the few Uchiha loyal to the Will of the Fire and to the Leaf. Uchiha Shisui was the boy who did tricks with his kunai and his shuriken, who had laughed and teased and hugged Sasuke and had been full of life, the sun in his life. Uchiha Shisui had loved his clan, loved his cousins, and would do anything for them, even betray the rest of his family. Uchiha Shisui was the teen that had chosen his village over his clan, and whose loyalty was repaid with blood by a man he thought he could trust.

She will probably never meet him again, but she finds that she knows so much more about him now.

She closes her eyes and sends a little prayer of thanks.

 **the lessons change**

next up: kabuto

tbh i have a fond spot for kagami too even if u barely know anything about him.


	4. Kabuto

chapter specific warnings: um a bit of gore and experimentation and violence. also some sasusaku again

 **the lessons change**

"Sasuke! Where is she?" Naruto roared, stance strong and his hands clenched into fists at his side. Sasuke looked at him, expressionless except for a derisive sneer.

"She's as good as dead," he spat and Naruto's eyes widened. "She was useless and annoying, just like you."

Sasuke huffed and shook his head, a hysterical laugh slipping through his lips. "She's much more useful for Orochimaru's experiments than as a kunoichi."

"You bastard..." Naruto whispered, his expression heartbroken. He trembled and ducked his head, hiding his face from everyone before he looked up, furious rage making the Kyuubi leak through. His eyes were red and animal-like, fire and death.

In another world, maybe it wouldn't have mattered to him that Sasuke had tried to kill him, had betrayed them and had left them. In another world, maybe he would have forgiven Sasuke.

But in this world, he couldn't.

"I'll kill you!"

 **the lessons change**

"Sakura."

Her eyes fluttered open. Too bright, there was too much light and she hurt everywhere and she couldn't see. She whimpered, her hands trembling, fingernails scratching uselessly at the metal table she was strapped on.

"It's okay," the voice soothed, familiar. The source blocked out the light, a gentle hand unlocking the shackles that bound her. "It's okay. You're okay."

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura gurgled, her mouth stuffed with cotton. A tiny, helpless sob escaped her lips and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in burning shame. If her body wasn't as starved for water as it was, Sakura knew she'd be crying in relief. She had thought she was going to die here, surrounded by her own filth and desperate for food, water, and light.

Kakashi shushed her and picked her up effortlessly. Sakura couldn't even muster up the energy to cry out at the way her thin, scarily bony body jostled painfully in his arms despite his gentleness.

"You'll be okay."

 **the lessons change**

"Sakura… Please tell us what happened."

 _"Please!" Sakura begged. "Take me with you."_

 _Sasuke stared at her, his gaze unreadable. Sakura held her breath, her hand pressed up to her chest as she stared at him in desperate hope._

"I tried to stop him," Sakura whispered. "I got in his way."

Her voice broke, and the tears came. Kakashi-sensei looked away, and from the cover of her long hair she could see Naruto's own eyes fill with helpless tears. Her and Sasuke had disappeared one day, and when people noticed they were missing, they had sent tracker teams after them.

It was too late by then.

Sakura's hands clenched into fists, if only to stop them from trembling. It didn't work. The Yamanaka's eyes darted at her hands, and Sakura knew what he must be thinking. Weak, she was so weak… wasn't she? Even Sasuke had thought so.

 _"What's this? A gift, Sasuke-kun?"_

 _Sakura stared up at Orochimaru, and all the nightmares she had had about him since the Chuunin exams came back, relentless images of his slimy tongue, of Sasuke's curse mark spreading through his body, of both Naruto and Sasuke dead at her feet while she did nothing. She trembled before him and Orochimaru seemed amused, his eyes sliding over her body as if she was a piece of meat._

 _Sasuke didn't answer, only stared up at him with blank eyes, even as Sakura turned her head to eye him desperately. She didn't want to be here, but she was lucky that Orochimaru didn't kill her on the spot._

 _"Why should I keep you alive, little girl?" Orochimaru murmured, voice sibilant and silky in her ears. "I only wanted Sasuke-kun, after all."_

 _Sasuke twitched, and Sakura waited for him to come to her defense. But still, he said nothing, and Sakura felt her heart break for the millionth time that day._

 _"I—" Sakura stuttered helplessly. What is she good at? What does she even have to offer? "I'm smart!" She blurted out, and then blushed deeply in embarrassment, but the nerves and the fear pushed her to keep talking, to keep babbling even if it was useless. "I have really good chakra control—Kakashi-sensei said I'm a, I'm a natural, and! I—I got tree climbing on the first try…"_

 _She trailed off and ducked her head, pressing her hands together and twisting her fingers. She didn't have anything of worth, everything she had said just sounded so lame when said like that and—_

 _"Haruno Sakura, wasn't it?" Another voice says softly from the shadows and Sakura turned her head, her eyes wide. The figure stepped out from the corner, light glinting off his glasses._

 _"Kabuto," Orochimaru greeted, the cruel, amused smile still on his lips. "Would you like to play with her?"_

 **the lessons change**

It took awhile for Sakura to adjust. Everyone seemed to tread on thin ice around her. Her parents treated her like she was about to break at any moment, and she couldn't blame them. She had woken up screaming far too many times, and she knew that the Yamanaka assigned to her had told her parents enough to make them worry.

Even Ino pig was being nice to her, and _that_ was saying something.

Kakashi-sensei lingered at her sides sometimes, dreadfully awkward, but Sakura could tell that he cared in a way and was just looking out for her. Other shinobi, some in her rookie batch smiled at her and made small talk with her, as if Sakura didn't know they talked about her behind her back.

Only Naruto was somewhat normal around her, and even then, he had a tendency to run his mouth and say something insensitive that made Sakura wince. She couldn't avoid him though, not after how hard he had worked to look for her and Sasuke in the first place, and after how he'd given up the opportunity to travel around with one of the sannin and train underneath him. For her.

But still, there were times that Sakura just wanted to scream, and Naruto kept pushing and pushing and _asking_ and didn't he understand that Sakura didn't want to talk about it? There were so many things that she wanted to forget, and Naruto wouldn't let her.

It came no surprise to anyone but Naruto that Sakura finally snapped.

"I hate him!" She yelled and Naruto stumbled back, his eyes wide at her outburst. Sakura's hands clenched at her sides uselessly and she looked up, her eyes wild with furious rage. "I hate him, Naruto!"

She looked away, shoulders heaving and fuck, there are tears welling up in her eyes again, she's so weak, so damn weak.

"After everything he let them do to me… He didn't stop them, they—" her voice cracked and she shut her mouth. Naruto watched her, silent for once in his goddamn life. She couldn't imagine how helpless he felt right now in front of a girl about to cry.

 _Her breath hitched, a few silent tears leaking out of her eyes and making a trail down her cheeks. She looked up at the ceiling of Sasuke's room, her whole body stiff and painful from the day's session, from everything that Kabuto had mercilessly put her through._

 _"Stop crying," Sasuke whispered from beside her. Sakura sniffled and reached up to wipe at her eyes with her hand, trying vain to stifle the sob in her chest. Her hand fell in between them, damp with her tears._

 _She didn't know who was more surprised—her or Sasuke, when Sasuke reached out and interlocked their pinkies. She didn't try for more, didn't try to roll over and press her face into Sasuke's chest, didn't even try to move her hand so as to interlock all their fingers. She knew Sasuke much better now, and she knew that he would have found any of those distasteful._

 _All she could do was press her other hand into her face and cry some more._

 _"Sasuke-kun," she croaked out, "I love you, okay?" She hated this so much, she hated being here, hated everything that Kabuto made her do, made her see, everything Kabuto and Orochimaru did to her. But she still loved him so much it hurt. She couldn't imagine a Sakura in any universe, in any future where she didn't love Sasuke._

 _She wanted so bad to go home, go back to her mom and her dad, even Ino pig and stupid Naruto and stupid Kakashi-sensei. She wanted to be able to sleep without the nightmares of dead bodies plaguing her, wanted to eat without wondering if it was her turn next. She wanted to live and laugh without fearing that Kabuto had finally gotten tired of her, had finally decided she was too worthless to keep teaching._

 _But she kept her mouth, because she knew Sasuke wanted to kill his brother more than he wanted to go home._

 _Sasuke's grip on her pinky tightened, and for a moment, both of them were silent. Slowly, Sasuke's hand made its way on tops of her and gently squeezed her hand in his._

 _"I love you," she repeated desperately. It was all she had left. He didn't say it back. He didn't say anything back—_

 _But Sasuke was never good with words, and even if he was, he would never admit the weakness of him caring for her. So Sakura takes what he's willing to give, although meager it is, because it's better than nothing._

"I hate him," she repeated, and Naruto only looked at her, his eyes so so sad, and it looked so wrong. Naruto should never look that way.

She turned away from him and shook her head. "I have to go," she whispered. She ran away and left him behind, still staring into his bowl of ramen.

 **the lessons change**

There were scars on her body. Sakura stared at herself, bare except for her panties. Litters of scars criss crossed around her body, a physical proof of her time in Orochimaru's lair. All of them were months old, from the time Sakura hadn't yet learned how to heal herself. (Motivation, Kabuto had said. Motivation to learn quicker.) Most of them were faded, barely there silver lines across her pale skin, but even if they fully disappeared, Sakura would know where each one was.

She had earned these scars, bled for them and bled for her life. They were proof that she survived.

These were the scars that everyone else could see.

Her other scars, the ones on her mind, they were hers and hers alone.

Or they should be.

They had postponed it as long as they could, but Sakura knew that she had a duty to fulfill for Konoha. They wanted information on Orochimaru and his bases and Sakura could give that to them. She had told them everything she could, but T&I wanted to have someone go through her memories just in case, and Sakura knew that they thought she was keeping things from them.

They weren't wrong.

The things she had done… The things Kabuto and Orochimaru had made her do in order to test her worth, the sick semblance of what they had called training… Sakura didn't want anyone to know.

Sakura shook her head. The whispers of Inner Sakura, what was left of her, prodded at her consciousness. I'll keep them safe, she promised, and Sakura nodded.

She gave her body one last look in the mirror before she continued to get ready, putting on her clothes. She made her way to the T&I building, and they brought her to one of the friendlier, less menacing interrogation rooms. The Yamanaka assigned to her was already there.

Sakura wasted no time and sat down in front of him, hands clasped on her lap and her head bowed.

Yamanaka-san wasted no time either. Quickly, the memories came.

 _Sakura let out a strangled scream as Sasuke's fireball jutsu caught her arm, her body too slow to fully evade his attack. The chakra scalpel in her hand flickered and disappeared before Sakura got back on her feet, eyes wild and blood dripping._

 _Sasuke ran towards her, fist cocked back and Sakura avoided it, dropping quickly and using her smaller size and flexibility to get around him. She kicked, and Sasuke blocked it painfully easy before his hand flashed out to strike at her face._

 _From the side, Orochimaru and Kabuto observed them._

 _Sakura jumped away, darting back in a desperate bid to get some space between them. Her lungs were heaving in exertion and blood was soaking her shirt. Sasuke looked unbothered, barely even harmed by any of Sakura's attacks. She concentrated and the chakra scalpels came back to her hand, giving her skin an eery blue glow. This time, when Sasuke flashed in front of her, Sakura was ready. Her hand swiped at his arm and he pulled back too late, hissing in pain as the muscles were severed. His arm was useless now, but Sakura knew better than to think that she could beat him even with that._

 _"You're going easy on her, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru called out, his tone bored. "Finish her." Fear raced its way up her spine, a tangible thing at the thought of what they could do to her._

 _Her moment of distraction was enough, Sasuke took it. Next thing Sakura knew, she was flying._

 _Her head hit the floor with a crack._

The rest of the memories came in flashes, enough for Sakura to see and remember and relive them.

 _She withdrew her hand from the cavity of the chest of Orochimaru's latest experiment and tried not to throw up._

 _She failed, running to the corner to retch and puke up the dinner she had just had, tears streaming down her face at the overwhelming disgust and revulsion at the smell and the sight and the feel of it around her fingers._

 _"Interesting, isn't it?" Kabuto said. "The effect of the poison on organs."_

Sakura flinched and the memory changed.

 _She was strapped naked to the experimenting table, Orochimaru and Kabuto somewhere to her side and talking about her as if she wasn't there._

 _"This will increase her chakra production," Kabuto murmured and Orochimaru nodded, chuckling slightly._

 _"Let's just hope that it doesn't mess with her chakra control, right Sakura-chan?"_

Sakura quickly shut herself out of the memories and blocked them out. She didn't want to see anymore, didn't want to relive them as Yamanaka-san invaded her mind. Inside her head, unknown to the man in front of her, Inner Sakura guarded the rest of her memories.

 **the lessons change**

It took her a few weeks after her forced rehabilitation to finally approach the Hokage.

She stood in front of Senju Tsunade, the greatest medic of all time, and bowed deeply.

"Please," she said to the ground, not daring to look up and meet her eyes. She had learned her lesson from Orochimaru. "Let me be your apprentice."

"Stand up straight, girl," Tsunade said softly. Sakura straightened up and met her eyes.

"Why do you want to be my apprentice?"

Sakura swallowed. Unbidden, tears came to her eyes and dripped down her face. She was still so weak.

"When I was with Orochimaru," she started, her voice breaking, "they made me learn medical ninjutsu."

 _Sakura flinched as Kabuto sliced open her arm once more until she could see bone, the blood immediately welling up underneath the blade and slowly dripping down to the floor._

 _"Heal yourself," Kabuto ordered. "I will leave you to die if you cannot."_

 _A sob escaped her lips and blood, sweat and tears blurred her vision. Her other hand glowed green and despite the pain, so much pain, Sakura pushed on._

"They made me hurt people, they hurt people in front of me and made me keep them alive."

 _A nameless civilian this time. Sakura stared in horror as Kabuto hurt her, sliced her open, burned her face, poisoned her and broke her bones. Sakura couldn't look away, wasn't even allowed to._

 _"She's all yours, Sakura," Kabuto chuckled._

 _Sakura shook and knelt down beside the sobbing woman, her hands glowing green. She shouldn't have begged Kabuto to stop hurting her, not if it meant others would suffer._

 _She tried, god, she tried so hard, but even as the green of her chakra threatened to fizzle out, her vision going blurry with chakra exhaustion, Sakura felt it the moment her first patient took her last breath._

 _She bowed her head. She had failed._

"They forced me to help in their experiments and I—"

Sakura met Tsunade's eyes, determination shining.

"I want to heal people. I don't ever want to hurt anyone again."

 **the lessons change**

It took a long time before they declared Sakura okay.

She trained under Tsunade, relearned and refined techniques that Kabuto had taught her. She became better, faster, stronger.

She learned how to use her chakra control to have super strength, and she alternated between that and her chakra scalpels.

Any mention of Orochimaru or Kabuto or even Sasuke made her flinch and she ignored the way that people looked at her with pity and concern.

They still looked for Sasuke, but Naruto was angry at how he had hurt her. She knew that Naruto would eventually forgive their teammate but for now, even looking at Sakura reminded him of just what Sasuke had done.

Sakura was placed in the hospital and she did good work there. She helped save lives, helped civilians with their aches and injuries and was a good little medic.

Slowly, Tsunade started to trust her more and more until Sakura was helping her out with paperwork. Bits and pieces at a time of course, and nothing too sensitive, but it was working up to it and soon…

Soon, Sakura knew, she'd be useful to Kabuto and Orochimaru again.

 **the lessons change**

"No one in Konoha thinks much of you," Kabuto told her in cold amusement. Sakura kept her head bowed, her hands trembling in front of her. "And that's what makes you useful."

She looked up, her eyes wide.

She had forgotten that Kabuto had passed as a loyal genin of Konoha for more than 7 years before he had to out himself during the Chuunin invasion. Kabuto was a true snake, one that waited in the shadows for the proper time to strike, deadly and dangerous.

Before the invasion, even Sakura had thought he was a pretty useless shinobi. His mediocrity helped him stay in the shadows where he needed to be.

And Sakura? Even after she survives this—because she will, she will survive this. If there's anything Kabuto has taught her, it was how to survive, how to heal oneself to keep on going, keep on pushing for more. Even after she survives this and comes back to Konoha (not home, not 'come back home' because no place was home without Sasuke-kun by her side), people were still going to think little of her.

She had left a useless kunoichi, barely better than a civilian.

She was going to come back a fighter.

And they wouldn't know it.

 **the lessons change**

 _"Kabuto," Orochimaru greeted, the cruel, amused smile still on his lips. "Would you like to play with her?"_

 _"I think she has potential," Kabuto said, staring at her intently. Sakura swallowed, and despite herself, she relaxed in relief._

 _/…/_

 _"I love you," she repeated desperately. It was all she had left. He didn't say it back. He didn't say anything back—_

 _But Sasuke was never good with words, and even if he was, he would never admit the weakness of him caring for her. So Sakura takes what he's willing to give, although meager it is, because it's better than nothing._

 _She didn't expect anything from him but—_

 _"Thank you," Sasuke whispered, and Sakura heard everything he left unsaid. She relaxed back into the bed, content with the knowledge that at least Sasuke was with her._

 _/…/_

 _Her head hit the floor with a crack._

 _Sakura blinked up at the feeling, dazed and confused. It was mere luck that she didn't black out._

 _Sakura pushed herself off the ground, her hands shaking and her whole body aching. The chakra scalpels had long disappeared, Sakura unable to keep them up underneath Sasuke's assault and the heat of the spar. She had to work on that, Kabuto would be disappointed in her._

 _Sasuke stepped up at her and peered at her with barely hidden concern. He held out a hand, and Sakura took it, smiling at him shyly as they made the Seal of Reconciliation._

 _"Nicely done, Sakura," Kabuto told her, chuckling slightly. "You have improved."_

 _Sakura ducked her head and nodded, pleased at the praise. Kakashi-sensei had barely praised her, the only times he had complimented her was to motivate Sasuke and Naruto to do better._

 _"Thank you Kabuto-sensei, I will do better."_

 _/…/_

 _"Interesting, isn't it?" Kabuto said. "The effect of the poison on organs."_

 _Sakura straightened up and wiped her mouth. She avoided his gaze._

 _"Yes, it is," she agreed. She hadn't expected her visceral reaction to the dissected body, but intellectually, she could appreciate the efficiency of the poison. She had always liked learning, after all, and these were some of the greatest lessons she was ever taught. The Academy lessons were nothing compared to this, and Kakashi-sensei hadn't taught her anything aside from tree climbing. Even then, Sakura knew she could have done it without his 'help'._

 _She still found Orochimaru's disregard for human life distasteful, but the knowledge compelled her. She couldn't deny that it was interesting._

 _"Do you think it would have the same effect as a gas?"_

 _Kabuto smirked. "Let's see."_

 _/…/_

 _"Let's just hope that it doesn't mess with her chakra control, right Sakura-chan?"_

 _Sakura laughed nervously. "I hope not. Thank you Orochimaru-sama, I really appreciate you doing this for me."_

 _"Think of it as an investment," Orochimaru smiled at her, his yellow eyes glinting. Sakura smiled back._

 _/…/_

 _"Heal yourself," Kabuto ordered. "I will leave you to die if you cannot."_

 _A sob escaped her lips and blood, sweat and tears blurred her vision. Her other hand glowed green and despite the pain, so much pain, Sakura pushed on._

 _A few moments later, her arm was healed, not even a scar left on her skin. Kabuto kneeled down in front of her and inspected it with his eyes and then with his chakra._

 _"Good job," he praised and Sakura panted slightly before she nodded. "You're really a natural at this. You're forgetting to burn bacteria in case of infection though."_

 _She watched as he did it for her, his chakra warm and comforting, familiar on her skin. He patted her arm gently after he was done._

 _"You deserve a break."_

 _She inclined her head. "Thank you, Kabuto-sensei."_

 _/…/_

 _She tried, god, she tried so hard, but even as the green of her chakra threatened to fizzle out, her vision going blurry with chakra exhaustion, Sakura felt it the moment her first patient took her last breath._

 _She bowed her head. She had failed._

 _"Don't feel bad, Sakura," Kabuto said comfortingly, patting her shoulder. "The bitch deserved it."_

 _Sakura nodded slowly. The woman had been abusing her children, that was true. They were safe now, even from Orochimaru who didn't bother touching civilians._

 _"I'll do better next time," she said quietly. "Thank you for the experience."_

 _"Sasuke-kun will be glad that you'll be able to heal him soon."_

 _Sakura smiled shyly and ducked her head. "I'm glad too."_

 **the lessons change**

Sakura knew she wasn't alone the moment she entered her house.

She stopped, and then looking behind her just to check no one was watching, she quickly closed her door.

She activated the privacy seal on it and felt the hum of chakra as it started to work. She had just come from a shift in the hospital and it wasn't likely anybody had followed her, but it paid to be safe.

As soon as she did, a snake slithered out from the dark corner. Sakura froze, her eyes going blank as she observed it. The snake made its way towards her, slithering up her leg and her body to her arm. She flicked a tongue at Sakura.

"Hello, Namia," Sakura greeted politely.

"Kabuto-sama is asking for updates and if you have more samples for him."

Sakura smiled, and pulled out the labelled DNA samples she had gathered from the shinobi who had visited her that day in the hospital. Namia took it and swallowed it for safe-keeping. The grotesque sight of it going down the snake's throat didn't even cause her to blink.

"Tell him they don't suspect a thing."

 **the lessons change**

 _"Please!" Sakura begged. "Take me with you."_

 _Sasuke stared at her, his gaze unreadable. Sakura held her breath, her hand pressed up to her chest as she stared at him in desperate hope._

 _"Okay."_


	5. jiraiya

The moment Naruto realized just what exactly Tsunade-sama did, he fell in love.

Not with her, no, but with the idea of healing, of saving someone's life, of a way to keep his precious people safe.

Naruto used to think that people healed easily. He did, after all, and that wasn't much of a baseline to compare to.

But then Naruto was surrounded by all of these people—precious, delicate people, who didn't recover as fast as he did, and sometimes didn't recover at all.

Sakura understood then somewhat, especially when Naruto brought up all the times their friends had been hurt, had almost died if it weren't for medic-nin. Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun, even her, and so many other people he failed to protect.

"Sakura-chan, even if I can't protect you, I can still keep you safe dattebayo!" Naruto grinned and Sakura stared at him in wonder.

What else was there to do but support him?

She had wanted to ask Hokage-sama if she could be her apprentice, but how could she now? Godaime-sama knew and liked Naruto more than her and even with how annoying Naruto was, Sakura couldn't deny that Naruto deserved this more than her. What did she have to offer?

She squirmed in her chair. Besides... people seemed to like Naruto way more than they liked her anyway.

Naruto would be a good medic nin. She knew that. She let out a long breath. No—Naruto would be an amazing medic nin. His nindo wouldn't let him be anything but.

"Besides, it'll be easier to take the hat from baa-chan if I'm her apprentice!" Naruto snickered. Sakura groaned and swatted his head, growling slightly.

"Idiot!"

Some things never changed.

xxx

"I know you wanted to train him yourself," Tsunade said, chin on top of her hands as she regarded him. Jiraiya leaned on the wall as he looked out of the window, arms crossed across his chest and his form deceptively casual.

"He's my godson," Jiraiya simply said, chuckling slightly as he shook his head. He adjusted his stance to push himself off the wall and approach her. "But this is what he wants. I trust you to teach him well."

Tsunade's lips thinned. They stared at each other again before slowly, Tsunade smiled at him. Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat and he took in her smile, his own face softening.

"What will you do now?" She asked and Jiraiya cleared his throat, letting out a casual laugh.

"Stay here for awhile then travel again, I suppose. Keep up my spy network. Meet beautiful women, write another book." He grinned and Tsunade rolled her eyes, scoffing slightly as she pushed her chair back from her desk.

Her gaze turned serious. "There are some things I can't teach him," she cautioned. "He already has a contract with the toads, doesn't he?"

Jiraiya nodded, looking away again. His eyes were distant as he hummed. "I'll drop by more often."

xxx

"Look brat, a medic nin is all about chakra control and if you don't have it, then I'm sorry."

"Ne, baa-chan, chakra control's like Sakura-chan's thing. She got tree climbing on the first try, like easy."

Tsunade snorted, reaching out to flick Naruto's forehead, the dead fish in between them still very much dead and still like it was since they started. "Not impressive, brat, so did I."

"Ehh?" Naruto whined, "It took me and teme like the whole day to get it down."

"Quit yapping, start healing."

"Why do I even need chakra control?" Naruto grumbled, "Why can't I just—"

A burst of chakra from Naruto's hands, and then the fish started frantically flopping.

The two of them gaped at the fish.

"What did you do?" Tsunade demanded and Naruto squeaked.

"I don't know, I just gave it a lot of chakra!"

Tsunade stared at him in disbelief before her eyes suddenly narrowed in calculation. She pulled out another fish out of nowhere and slapped it in between them, right beside the first fish.

"Do it again," she demanded.

And so Naruto did. Over and over until Tsunade finally had to sit down, and say, "Huh."

Hashirama was the same, she remembered, his chakra was naturally healing. Raw. It couldn't be directed as finely as she did, but it was still very much the basic of the Mystical Palm Technique. She eyed Naruto with new eyes. What an interesting development.

xxx

"You know, you're a lot less unassuming than Naruto," Jiraiya said thoughtfully. Sakura resisted the urge to glare at him. What was that supposed to mean?

Jiraiya hummed, his eyes narrowing as he appraised her. Sakura didn't quite know if she should straighten up or do something or whatever, but at least Jiraiya wasn't leering at her. His appraisal wasn't even close to the perverted kind and it seemed almost like he was measuring her up. Sakura could only that he didn't find her lacking.

"You're not much to look at," Jiraiya murmured, almost to himself as he nodded and Sakura gaped. "Except for the…" he motioned at her hair, nose scrunched up and Sakura resisted the urge to either shrink into herself, or punch him in the face. She wasn't sure which was preferable.

"Which is perfect," he continued quickly, before Sakura could even think of deciding right then and there to hit him and Sakura only huffed in response.

He laughed and placed his hands on his hips. "No one will see it coming. Everyone will be too busy seeing your pink hair and how small you are to see you as any threat."

Sakura frowned. She wasn't sure if she should be insulted.

He grinned. "How do you feel about becoming a spymaster?"

xxx

"I don't think the toads are a good fit for you."

Sakura stayed quiet and listened. Jiraiya always started out as if he was insulting her, but Sakura had learned by now that he usually started to make sense after a little bit. Despite his... proclivities, Jiraiya was actually a genius.

(Yeah, she was surprised too.)

"Do you know how to perform a summoning jutsu?" He asked, eyes glinting. Sakura wiggled in her seat awkwardly.

"I guess? The theory, yeah," she said and then hesitated, frowning slightly. "Don't you need to sign a summoning contract first?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Mhmm, no, not really. Come on now, do it." He demonstrated the hand signs and Sakura watched him, taking it down mentally and repeating them to herself in her head.

He waited for her patiently and Sakura swallowed. Slowly, she nodded and bit at her thumb before carefully forming the hand signs.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Next thing Sakura knew, she was falling.

xxx

One of the things Sakura hated about being Jiraiya's apprentice was his… 'research'.

She eyed him with barely concealed disgust over the top of her book. He had two women on either side of him, a pleased lascivious grin on his lips.

Now, usually, Sakura would play along, but she was tired and on her period and she just wanted to go to bed already. She put down her book, closing it with a resolute snap before she walked over to Jiraiya.

"Jii-san," she said innocently and Jiraiya's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "Baa-san was wondering where you were. She got the results for tests, and she says you have crabs."

The two women eyed him, and then slowly scooted away.

xxx

Sakura tilted her head. "That's not a 9, that's a—" She froze. It was a _Ta_. Her mind raced, putting together connections and everything she knew and learned from Jiraiya himself.

"Sakura?" Shikamaru asked, encouraging even as he slouched and rubbed a hand over the bridge of his nose.

"Icha Icha Tactics," she breathed, hand flying to the hidden pocket in her vest. They stared at her in surprise but Sakura ignored them as she reached in and pulled out a copy of the book she pretended she had never read.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, I can't believe you're a pervert now too."

"It's really not the time for that..."

She ignored them, her eyebrow twitching furiously even as she flipped to page 31 and grabbed the paper and pencil on the table.

They watched her quietly, Sakura's eyes wide as she jotted down the first line, went to page 8, then 106, then 7, 207 and finally 15, the scritch scratch of her pencil the only sound in the room. She straightened up, eyes scanning over the first words and—her breath hitched.

"The real one is not among them," she whispered.

"The real one is not among them," Shikamaru repeated thoughtfully. They're silent, thoughtful, but Sakura's not even thinking of Jiraiya's message.

Everything came crashing down on her then. All the times Jiraiya had made her look over his drafts, all the times she helped him with his information gathering and code breaking... Her fists clenched. She would never see him again.

 _She would never see him again._

"I have to go," she said abruptly. So desperate to just get out, she jumped through the window and almost slammed into Kakashi-sensei.

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi said in surprise.

"Kakashi-sensei," she responded tightly, turned on her heel and stalked away. She was lucky that Kakashi was tactful enough not to bring up the tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked in surprise. The toad, one of Jiraiya's littlest summons, croaked and looked up at her expectantly.

"The old man said to pass on his spy network to you."

"What?" Sakura croaked, much like the toad in front of her just did. She collapsed into the chair, her eyes wide as she covered her mouth and shook her head. She couldn't quite believe that Jiraiya had seen fit to actually entrust his spy network to her! Her, of all people. She had always thought that he had like Naruto more than her, even if he was terribly fond of her, and she didn't blame him. Naruto was his godson.

But, she considered quietly, she couldn't quite imagine Naruto having the discreetness or the well… subtlety that came with managing a spy network. He was smart in his own ways, of course, but not the kind that lent itself well to information trading and gathering.

He _had_ trained her for this, she realized. She had helped decipher his codes, had met with his hidden operatives all over, from Fire to Mist. She had sent and received messages meant for him when he was hungover, when he was busy writing, when he was out with women.

Of course he wanted to pass his spy network on to her.

Sakura swallowed, and then slowly nodded.

It was up to her then. She'd make him proud.


	6. Kurenai

Sakura thought her choices were either to be pretty or to be strong.

She never considered you could be both.

xxx

Kurenai's hair was long and beautiful, and for a long time, Sakura only stared at it with jealousy. Cutting her hair short had been a symbol of her cutting off what didn't matter, of the care for her appearance that would in no way benefit her or make her stronger.

But not all strong shinobi had their hair sheared short. Kurenai and Hokage-sama were testament to that. The Hyuuga, Uchiha Itachi—even the Shodaime and Uchiha Madara had long hair.

Long hair in shinobi only showed that they were skilled enough for it not to be used against them. Sakura shook slightly at the thought of someone's hands in her hair again, keeping her in place, and the helplessness that had come with it.

Sakura touched the ends of her short hair. She didn't know if she would ever let her hair grow out again. She didn't know if she could ever let herself afford that weakness and if she would ever be confident enough again in herself and her abilities.

She was not Kurenai or the Hokage, and she was even less like the Shodaime or Uchiha Itachi. She was Haruno Sakura, and maybe someday, that would be enough.

xxx

"Look, you're not very intimidating," Kurenai said calmly and Sakura gaped. Her heart cracked lightly and even Inner whimpered at Kurenai's blunt delivery. At the look on her face, Kurenai's eyes widened, and she shook her head, wincing slightly at regret at her poor word choice.

"No, no! That's not what I meant, I meant-" she coughed. Sakura stared, fascinated. "I meant that people will underestimate you, and you can use that."

Her face turned serious. "No one will expect you to be as fast as you are, or even as strong. Use that. Use their expectations against them, make their expectations their reality."

Sakura opened her mouth, and then faltered slightly, but at Kurenai's encouraging look she continued, "Genjutsu?"

"Genjutsu," Kurenai agreed, and she smiled.

Sakura smiled back. Her heart soared.

xxx

"Are you lost, little girl?"

The slight girl looked up her, and her eyes were impossibly green. They were a shade of emerald that seemed ethereal, unreal, and for a moment he was stunned speechless. All he could do was stare, his lips parted, utterly enchanted. He couldn't take his eyes away from her.

Everything about her was riveting. Her hair was the color of fresh cherry blossoms, her pale skin tone only accentuated by her locks and her green, green eyes.

He stepped towards her, unthinking of any consequences. He just wanted to touch. To be near her. To just bask in her presence.

He never saw it coming.

xxx

"I just thought…I didn't need to be pretty. What use is pretty? I need to be strong, I want to be a shinobi. I don't want to have to look at the backs of people!" Sakura's tone was heated, frustrated tears brimming in her eyes. Her grip around the kunai was tight, her knuckles white around them.

Kurenai tilted her head, her long, black hair shifting. Her red eyes were calm. Assessing.

"You don't want to be pretty," she said, and Sakura furiously nodded, even if it was a lie. She was past that, but she desperately wanted it still. She would never admit it.

"You need to be strong," Kurenai continued, and Sakura nodded again, her face twisted. It was a need that encompassed her want to be pretty. It was survival. It was necessary. It was her dream.

Kurenai smiled at her then, gentle. "Who said you can't be both?"

xxx

"S-Sakura," Naruto said in surprise. "Your hair! It's—"

"Long again, yeah," Sakura smiled at him, reaching up to tuck a wayward strand back behind her ear. Her hair was in an intricate braid, deceptively elegant and beautiful. All the better to hide the senbons tipped with poison.

"It looks good on you," Naruto said, surprisingly shy, and Sakura's eyes lit up

"Thank you."

xxx

"Tch," Sasuke said, staring down at her disdain. Sakura looked back up at him with doleful green eyes, her long hair falling down in a graceful part over her face. She was beautiful, and Sasuke scowled. He thought she had moved past that.

It would be extremely easy to get past her.

Of course, he was wrong.

"How?" He asked later in frustration, his teeth gritted. He hadn't seen her genjutsu, and that was impossible! She shouldn't have been able to trick him. "My Sharingan should have caught your illusions!"

She gave him a pitying smile. "It should have," she agreed.

"But Sasuke?" She leaned in, her pretty green eyes cold.

"You never cared to look."

xxx

There's a certain estimation that people have towards flowers. Beautiful, they think. Pretty. But also useless, weak, good for nothing but decoration.

Sakura knew before she was even a genin that this couldn't possibly be true. After all, she was best friends with Ino. She should have realized by then the power of the deceptively beautiful. Nice to look at, nice to touch, but get too close?

There was lily of the valley, eating large quantities of it could leave you with stomach aches, nausea, vomiting. Daphne, painful headaches and convulsions.

Opium, a deadly and addictive drug.

Aconitum, Nerium Oleander, Conium, Bella Dona. Autumn Crocus. Datura. Even the pink, trumpet-shaped Angel's Trumpet.

And of course—

Sakura Haruno.


	7. Obito

Obito's eyes narrowed. He had heard that Kakashi had been given a genin team, and at the time, he had pitied the poor souls who had been assigned to him. But now, Obito couldn't help but seethe.

He observed the girl, so so young, just like Rin. She had battled Sasori and won, had created an antidote to Sasori's impossible poison, and had healed the Kazakage's brother.

Obito looked at her and saw everything that Rin could have become. Rin was brilliant, beautiful, amazingly talented and smart, and that's who she should have been. She transplanted an eye under pressure and in insane conditions, she was a prodigal medic. That could have been her, easily.

He watched, barely holding on to his anger as she healed his traitor friend. Her hands were gentle on him, and when she finished, Kakashi smiled at her and thanked her before patting her on the head. Kakashi would have never done that to Rin, no, Kakashi was an ungrateful prick when they were younger, no matter how kind and caring Rin was to him.

It didn't matter how Kakashi treated this young one now. Obito couldn't trust him not to ruin her like he had ruined Rin. He had left her, after all, to face Sasori, in the same way Kakashi left him and left Rin to die.

Obito wouldn't let Kakashi fuck up again. This pink-haired girl reminded him of Rin too much, and Obito only trusted himself to take care of her and make sure she stayed alive.

xxx

"Why are you loyal to him?" Obito asked. Sakura blinked blearily back at him, still dazed from the blow that had knocked her unconscious.

"Who…?" she slurred and Obito leaned in, his eyes narrowed from behind his garish orange mask. At the sight of his Sharingan, Sakura's eyes widened and she tried to sit up, failing.

"Who?" she asked again, this time not a question to Obito's own question, but instead a demand of his identity. Obito ignored her.

"Why are you loyal to him when he's done nothing for you?" he hissed. He didn't bother with his Tobi personality. "Kakashi Hatake is scum. Trash."

And then—and then she _defended_ him. She explained that she didn't want to be taught then, too busy with silly things, that Kakashi did his best with the team he had been given. The Last Uchiha and The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, of course he had his hands full. Of course he hadn't had the time for her.

And worst of all, she sounded as if she believed it.

xxx

The girl talked too much. He's had her for a few weeks now, and she used to be afraid of him. But now, her spitfire personality was back. She chatted incessantly, and despite the chakra blocks, she was doing well with her training. He trained her with a single-minded focus that she excelled under. All the things Minato-sensei had taught them that Kakashi had failed to pass on.

All it did was remind him of how things used to be.

She rambled on and on, things Obito cared little about. But he caught some things—

"—he's always late, and he has these dumb excuses—"

"—always there in front of the Memorial stone—"

And he started to wonder.

xxx

"There's nothing, boss," Pakkun said, and Obito watched as Kakashi's jaw tightened under his mask.

"Impossible," Kakashi said. "They couldn't have just…disappeared into thin air."

But Obito did. He had left no scent trail for Kakashi's dogs to find, and even now, they couldn't smell him.

"Let's try again."

xxx

"Go home," he said quietly.

Sakura stared at him in surprise, her hands grasping at the hem of her shirt.

"I—Obito-sensei?" She said hesitantly and Obito scowled, turning away from her to hide his expression. Sensei, he repeated mockingly to himself. He gripped the edge of the table, fingernails digging into the wood.

"Leave, Sakura. Go back home to Konoha, go back to Kakashi and Naruto."

Sakura didn't reply, and for a moment, Obito would have thought that she already left, even if he could still sense her presence. He closed his eyes.

When her hand came up to touch his arm and he looked up, for a second he saw Rin. He faltered, his mouth dry, but then the image faded and she was just Sakura.

Haruno Sakura.

Haruno Sakura, who he had taken from her home. Haruno Sakura, apprentice to the Godaime, lone female member of Team 7, Kakashi's student. Haruno Sakura, whom they thought was dead.

Haruno Sakura…who was nothing like Rin. She had a fierceness and meanness to her that Rin didn't. Rin was gentle and sweet, always kind and, Obito clenched his fists, he hated to admit it, but Rin wouldn't have lasted against Sasori. Sakura was obsessed with his cousin in a way that reminded him of Rin's love for Kakashi, but Rin was never cruel to him in the way that Sakura used to be cruel to Naruto. She was better now, appreciated him far more, but even Obito knew that if she was Rin, she wouldn't have stayed loyal to the Uchiha for this long.

He had taken her like Kakashi had taken Rin from him. He had stolen her from her friends, her family, her master… Obito was a monster.

"Leave!"

Sakura stumbled back and stared at him, stunned and hurt, but Obito couldn't stand to look at her. He had gotten to know her for who she was, and it was a mistake to ever think she was anything like Rin. No one could replace his Rin. Haruno Sakura was her own person, and Obito was an idiot who had begun to care for her.

And it is because he cared for her that he'd let her go.

Warily, Sakura started to walk away to the exit. Obito doesn't watch her go. He only listened as her footsteps slowly dimmed, until he could hear nothing.

Until he was alone.

xxx

He wondered if he was doing the right thing.

But only for a moment.

His plan was for the best. He would be happy then with Rin, with Minato-sensei and even Bakakashi.

Sakura would be happy too.

xxx

He saw them again, and this time she was back with her team. Sakura recognized him. He doubted Kakashi did.

But they fought anyway. Sakura half-heartedly, maybe, but she knew how he fought well enough, how he used his Kamui, his Sharingan. Kakashi eventually figured it out.

"NO!"

Obito saw what was about to happen in slow motion—Sakura, lovely, innocent, beautiful Sakura, jumping in front of him. Kakashi's arm through her chest. Blood spurting out of her lips, her heart in Kakashi's hand.

He moved without thinking, phasing through Sakura's body with his Kamui, his body intercepting hers and—

Kakashi's hand plunged through his chest.

"Obito-sensei!" Sakura screeched and Obito saw as Kakashi faltered, his eyes widening. His mask fell off, the clatter as it hit the ground loud despite the sounds of battle and Kakashi's expression twisted into horror, confusion, and despair. The chirp of birds died out.

"Obito?" Kakashi whispered in disbelief. "No…"

Obito grinned, his eyes wild even as blood dripped out of his mouth. He coughed and it splattered on the floor, on Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes widened, and it was with a twisted satisfaction that Obito noticed the wetness of Kakashi's eyes. He didn't blame him, he was a dead man walking after all, only to be killed again.

"The perfect assassination technique," he hissed spitefully, "Figures you'd kill both your teammates with it, Friend Killer Kakashi."

"No," Sakura choked out as she scrambled to them. Her hand landed on Obito's shoulder and he grunted as Kakashi's hand jostled in his chest. "I won't let you die."

"Sakura," Kakashi said, voice strangled, and Obito looked up to meet his eyes. Odd, he thought. He was technically looking into his own eye, wasn't he? There was conflict wrought on Kakashi's features, and Obito could understand where he was coming from. He was Akatsuki before he was Kakashi's old teammate, a traitor before an old friend.

"No," Sakura refused, shaking her head. "I won't."

She placed her hands on his chest and healed, even as blood poured out of the hole in his chest, even as the edges of Obito's vision went black.

Obito closed his eyes.


End file.
